Joseph E. Finerty
Joseph Edward Finerty (September 28, 1905 – November 7, 1992) was an American politician. He was the
Irish Catholic mayor. He defeated the Republican incumbent Ernst Schaible, the last Republican to hold the office, with 58% of the vote.[1]
Finerty's election was the first Gary election in which a majority of voters in the all-black Midtown neighborhood voted for the Democratic rather than the Republican party.[2] In 1945, Finerty became enmeshed in a bitter controversy over racial integration of Froebel High School (since closed). Backlash against his support for the school's pro-integration principal led him to withdraw his name from candidacy for reelection in 1947.[3]
Upon retirement, Finerty had a personal estate of
US$3 million, despite having made only $8,000 per year in salary.[4]
Works cited
- Keiser, Richard A. (1997). Subordination or Empowerment?: African-American Leadership and the Struggle for Urban Political Power. ISBN 0-19-507569-2.
- Lane, James B. (1979). City of the century: a history of Gary, Indiana. ISBN 0-253-11187-0.
References
- ^ Keiser 1997, p. 69.
- ^ Keiser 1997, p. 71.
- ^ Keiser 1997, p. 70.
- ^ Keiser 1997, p. 191.
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